Water Resource Management

Traditionally, water use in North Carolina has been governed by a system of riparian access and reasonable use. Under this standard, any landowner adjacent to a river can make reasonable use of the water in the river, provided the withdrawal does not interfere with other reasonable uses downstream. In theory, this approach allows for a balancing of withdrawals to ensure water’s most efficient use for the greatest public benefit. However, population growth, development pressure, and climate change will render this approach unsustainable. Without a system for rationally managing growth in demand, NC will likely enter an era of full blown water conflicts, hampering economic growth and resulting in massive cumulative damage to the health of NC’s waterways.

RESULTS: This year we passed a comprehensive science based modeling bill. This was a great team effort spearheaded by EDF and had a number of community groups working on it. H1743